Jets quarterback Chad Pennington finished his magical regular season with an astounding quarterback rating of 104.2 after his virtuoso performance yesterday.

Pennington completed 17 of 24 passes for 196 yards and four TDs in the Jets’ 42-17 victory over the Packers.

His regular-season rating bested the Jets’ all-time record of 101.6 by Vinny Testaverde in 1998, when the Jets went to the AFC Championship Game.

Two of Pennington’s TDs went to Wayne Chrebet, who finished the regular season with nine, a career high for him.

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Testaverde relieved Pennington with 5:29 remaining and led the Jets to their final TD, a three-yard LaMont Jordan TD with 2:14 remaining in the game . . . Jets FB Richie Anderson made his first TD reception of the season count, catching a one-yard pass from Pennington in the first quarter to give the Jets a 7-0 lead. The reception gave Anderson at least one catch in 64 consecutive games, the longest such streak on the Jets. He entered the game with 43 receptions for the season.

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With his seventh carry in the first quarter, Curtis Martin became only the third back in NFL history to rush at least 250 times in eight consecutive seasons, joining Emmitt Smith, who did it 11 years in a row, and Thurman Thomas, who did it eight in a row . . . Giants coach Jim Fassel, who left this very field euphoric 24 hours earlier after a playoff-berth-earning victory over the Eagles, stood in the West end zone for much of the first half yesterday watching the Jets-Packers game.

During the week leading up to yesterday’s game, every Jets’ season-ticket holder received a pre-recorded phone call from Pennington urging them to come to the stadium early and scream loudest while the Packers had the ball on third downs.

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The Jets won a critical referee’s challenge in the first quarter that resulted in a reversal of a called incomplete 43-yard Pennington pass to WR Laveraneus Coles. The ruling on the field had Coles not getting both feet inbounds, but the replay showed differently and gave the Jets a first down on the Green Bay 17. Five plays later, the Jets took a 7-0 lead.

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After working extra time all week on wrapping up potential INTs, the Jets’ defensive backs missed yet another handful yesterday. Jets DBs used the Jugs machine to help their catching skills and Testaverde was used on the scout team to throw lasers into the secondary in an effort to simulate Favre’s strong arm.

CB Donnie Abraham, the team’s leader with 4 INTs, missed two picks that hit his hands in the first half. FS Damien Robinson let a Brett Favre pass go through his hands in the end zone. And CB Aaron Beasley also let one hit his hands and fall to the ground.